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Saturday, May 04, 2019

In ‘lawless’ world of service dogs, many families suffer

All the counseling, therapy and medication did little to ease 9-year-old Sobie Cummings’ crippling anxiety and feelings of isolation. And so a psychiatrist suggested that a service dog might help the autistic child connect with other kids.

To Glenn and Rachel Cummings, Mark Mathis seemed like a dream come true. His kennel, Ry-Con Service Dogs, was just a couple of hours away, and he, too, had a child with autism. But what clinched the decision were Mathis’ credentials.

“Is Ry-Con a certified program? Yes,” stated an online brochure. “In 2013, Mark was certified as a NC state approved service dog trainer with a specialty in autism service dogs for children.”

Ten months and $14,500 later, the family brought home a shaggy mop of a dog that Sobie had come to view as her “savior.” But when they opened the front door, Okami broke from Glenn Cummings’ grasp and began mauling one of the family’s elderly dogs — all as Sobie watched from the stairs in mute horror.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saw a woman in Costco today with a huge dog that was wearing a coat that said "dog in training". The woman looked fine to me but what do I know except the dog was way to distracted to be a dog in training. The woman did not try to discipline the animal. So much for "Dog in Training.". I feel this situation of dogs as comfort dogs is a farse. Excuse to take your dog everywhere so you don't have to leave it at home.

Anonymous said...

This is ridiculous and the Government should
mandate that something be done to protect
people from things such as this! Plus, the fraud
in charging the overboard prices for animals
not trained properly!
The people need to be protected and Government
isn't doing it!

Anonymous said...

You can order these "dog in training" and "Service Dog" , etc. ,vests on line cheap.